In Darkness
by Haleykim
Summary: On a team mission, Kid Flash and an injured Robin end up trapped. As Robin's condition worsens, time starts to run out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A very special thank you to the wonderful Black Friar and Sidekick Heroisms for the excellent beta!**

* * *

There had been a sudden, blinding flash of light, searing his skin, his eyes, his lungs. And there had been sound, so _much_ of it, and so loud that it had been deafening. He wondered if his ears were bleeding because they felt hot and they were ringing. His head felt like it would split open any minute. He _hurt_. And he was _tired_. So tired.

"-Robin, wake up!"

…Robin? Why was Alfred calling him Robin? Alfred always called him 'Master Dick', or at the very least 'Master Robin'. Unless—

"Rob!"

Oh. Yeah, that wasn't Alfred. Or Bruce. The voice was familiar and his mind groped for a name but it found nothing, and that kind of bothered him. The voice sounded urgent. He should really find out what's going on, just- as soon as he'd had a little more sleep. He was so _tired_.

"Rob, _please_!"

There was a note of desperation now and it bugged Robin enough to make the effort of prying his eyes open. When he finally managed it, he was rewarded by a white light glaring directly into his eyes, and he slammed them shut and turned his head away, the green stars dancing behind his eyelids mocking him for his trouble. He groaned.

"Crap! Sorry! Sorry!" the disembodied voice said. "Shoulda moved the beam out of your face."

 _Wally_ , Robin's mind supplied. It was Wally.

At the risk of being blinded again, he pulled his eyes open once more – slowly, cautiously – and discovered that this time, it was dark. Wherever he was. A single ray of light, which was presumably what had hit him square in the face a minute ago, was coming from somewhere to his right and he turned his head back towards the source.

The source was Wally.

Wait. That made no sense. Speedsters couldn't generate light any more than non-metas could. Robin blinked and tried to focus. Wally seemed to be lying on his stomach, several feet away, peering at him through a hole roughly the size of a bowling ball. He couldn't make out what, but something was clearly blocking Wally's path, preventing his friend from reaching him.

"Rob, you okay? Say something," Wally said.

The light was creeping up his face again but this time it never reached his eyes.

 _Oh._ A flashlight, Robin realized suddenly. Wally was holding a flashlight. Right. They'd been in a tunnel, he remembered now, chasing…bad guys? They'd been using flashlights to navigate through the tunnel. And then- then there'd been…an explosion! But- wait- the team! Were they…

It took him a few seconds to find his voice. "K-KF," he began. Jeez, he sounded like he'd just swallowed a bag of nails. He coughed and cleared his throat. "KF, where- where's the team?"

"I don't know," Wally replied. "The mind link's down and I'm only getting static on the comm. Dude, are _you_ okay? Can you move?"

"Uh…" _Could_ he move? He had no idea. All he knew was that his head was pounding, like his brain was trying to hammer its way out of his skull, and that he was lying on his back on uneven ground, sharp bits digging into his back. His ribs throbbed when he shifted a little and his left wrist felt like someone had smashed it with a rock. He was pretty sure his wrist computer was toast.

Then he moved his right leg – and the world tilted, sparks exploding before his eyes, his stomach rolling and –

…

There was yelling. Lots of yelling. And- scraping?

"—OBIN! C'mon, Rob, use your words! Talk to me! Are you okay? SAY SOMETHING!"

"K-KF?" Robin started. Why was Wally yelling at him? "What- what happened?"

" _Jesus_ , Rob! Don't scare me like that! You just cried out suddenly and then you passed out! You gave me a freaking heart attack!"

He'd passed out? No wonder Wally was flipping out. "Sorry," Robin said. "I- I think there's something wrong with my leg."

"What, is it broken?"

Robin slowly pushed himself up on his elbows, ignoring the stabbing in his ribs and the exhaustion that pulled at him, and looked down at his leg. The light from Wally's flashlight didn't reach far enough, but the residual glow glinted off a metal rod about half an inch thick and maybe a foot high, protruding from his thigh at a slight angle.

His stomach lurched.

"KF, it's- my leg- it's- impaled on something."

There was a brief pause. "It's _WHAT?!_ Oh my _god_! Where? How bad is it? Are you bleeding? I'm coming to you!"

Wally coming to him? That seemed like a bad idea. Then they'd both be stuck here. Wherever 'here' was. "KF, you- you should get help."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"There's no way out on my end."

"Oh."

Robin took a moment to take in his surroundings. Wally's bobbing flashlight didn't provide enough light to show much detail, but he was just able to make out the ceiling, which was hanging considerably lower than he remembered it being before the explosion. To his left was a half-collapsed brick wall and there were bent and broken pipes and chunks of debris strewn about everywhere. It dawned on him that he was incredibly lucky he hadn't gotten squashed.

When he looked to his right, he realized large pieces of rubble and half a concrete slab were separating him from Wally.

"Hang on, I'm almost there," Wally said, and Robin realized that the scraping sound he'd been hearing in the background was Wally, trying to make the hole he'd been peering through big enough for him to fit through.

God, his leg was on _fire_. He tried to push himself up far enough so he could inspect the wound, but both his ribs and his head protested, and his arms were starting to tremble from the strain of supporting his weight. He eased himself back down; he'd have to let Wally take a closer look at it.

He closed his eyes, trying to get the hammering in his head to subside a little—

"OH MY GOD! DUDE!"

—and started awake, squinting up at Wally. Whoa. How did he-? Oh. Yeah. Super speed. Why was his head so fuzzy?

"Dude, there's a _freaking iron pipe_ sticking out of your leg!"

Robin rolled his eyes. "I hadn't noticed."

Wally was staring at his leg, his eyes so wide Robin wondered if his eyeballs were going to fall out. "Rob, what…how do we- _what do I do?"_

Robin struggled back onto his elbows, biting back a groan. "How does it look?"

"What do you mean, 'how does it look'?!" Wally exclaimed. "It looks bad! Like, _really, really bad_!"

Robin scowled at him, trying to contain his own panic because, what if the nerves in his leg had been completely severed? What if he would never be able to walk again? "Jeez, KF, your bedside manner sucks."

Wally blinked, tearing his eyes away from Robin's leg to meet his gaze. "Right," he said with a guilty wince. "Sorry."

"Is it bleeding?"

Wally swallowed visibly and his jaw tightened. He took a firmer hold of the flashlight and bent over Robin's leg, examining it closely. "It is a little, but it's actually not too bad," Wally replied, sounding slightly relieved. "The pipe's stuck in the outer part of your thigh."

"Hopefully that means it missed anything majorly important," Robin said. "And as long as that pipe's stuck in there, it shouldn't bleed much anyway." Robin's arms were starting to tremble again so he lay back down, closing his eyes. So long as he didn't move, the pain was bearable.

"Okay, but- how the hell are we gonna get you out of here when that thing's pinning you down?" Wally asked.

Robin didn't open his eyes. "Let's just worry about finding a way out of here first, okay?" Without raising his head to look, he reached for his utility belt and withdrew a gauze pad and some bandages from one of the pouches and held them out for Wally to take. "See if you can wrap it."

Wally set about applying the bandages and Robin gritted his teeth against the pain. He wished that he'd thought to add a small bottle of betadine to his utility belt. The wound was bound to get infected with that iron thing in his leg, not to mention the bits of uniform that were now embedded in his flesh. He just hoped help would arrive before things got really ba-

"OW! Wally!" he exclaimed when the pain in his leg flared up suddenly. His eyes flew open and he glared at his friend.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm just not good at this stuff, okay?" Wally said, hands raised, sounding both apologetic and frustrated.

"No kidding," Robin muttered and gritted his teeth once more.

Wally finished a few minutes later and Robin breathed a trembling sigh of relief. Pain was _exhausting_.

"You okay?" Wally asked.

"Dumbest. Question. Ever."

"You know what I mean."

Robin shrugged. "It hurts, but it could be worse. Head's pounding though."

Wally frowned. "Concussion?" he asked, raising his flashlight towards Robin's face.

Robin sent him a warning glare before the light could reach his eyes. "You are _not_ shining that thing in my face again. I'm pretty sure it is a concussion. Feels like one anyway."

Wally nodded grimly, and then turned to pass his flashlight over the decimated walls and ceiling and piles of dirt and debris surrounding them. "I'm gonna scope out the place and see if I can find us a way out. Maybe I can speed-dig us out or something."

"Okay," Robin replied as he closed his eyes again, suddenly tired down to his bones. A warm hand on his shoulder made him drag his eyelids open.

"Hey," Wally said, "don't fall asleep, okay?"

"I won't."

Wally regarded him skeptically. "Right. I'll check in with you every few minutes to make sure you're awake."

Robin waved him off. "Fine."

He closed his eyes again, listening to the sounds Wally made while he poked around. Despite his words, he could feel himself slipping towards sleep. He tried to fight it, knowing that going to sleep with a concussion wasn't the best idea, but he was just so _tired!_

True to his word, Wally shook him awake several times, but his eyes slid shut again almost as soon as Wally turned his back.

The pain seemed to be leeching all his strength and he could feel himself starting to drift again, when his ears picked up a heavy rumble, followed by a startled cry. He jerked back to full awareness and turned his head towards where he'd seen Wally working to dig them out. Wally wasn't there.

"KF?" he said, his voice sounding loud and shaky in the quiet. Robin propped himself up on his elbows, gritting his teeth as he did so, and looked around. The flashlight lay on the ground a few feet away, but Wally was gone. Had he found a way out? No, Wally wouldn't have left without telling him. If Wally wasn't there, something was wrong.

Robin glanced around once more and froze when his eyes fell on a mountain of earth that had taken up the space where he'd last seen Wally. That hadn't been there before. Robin's breath caught in his throat. Oh god. Had that stuff collapsed on top of Wally? That meant—

His heart throbbing, he pushed himself to a sitting position, wasting precious seconds fighting off the dizziness and nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. If Wally was under there, he didn't have much time!

Robin tried to get to his feet and cried out when his entire body reminded him, loudly, of the iron rod that had skewered his leg and was pinning him to the ground. The pain set his body on fire and he choked on another cry.

Trying hard to breathe through the pain, he wrestled with his own frustration. He wasn't going to be able to move with his leg still stuck on that damn thing! Wally was running out of air! He had to do something!

Taking a deep breath, he propped himself up on his hands and braced his good leg under him. He clenched his teeth and without giving himself time to think about it, he pushed himself up so he could lift his injured leg, and tore it free from the pipe. The scream that ripped from his throat made his ears hurt. It felt like knives were repeatedly being plunged into his leg and his entire _body_ seemed to echo the excruciating pain. His world flared white and he collapsed to the ground as black spots threatened to blot out his vision.

 _Don't pass out! Don't pass out! Don't pass out!_

As soon as his vision started to come back into focus, he was moving. Gasping, and with trembling arms, he pushed himself up on his hands and one knee and half-crawled, half-dragged himself over to where he suspected Wally had been buried, and began to claw at the dirt and debris. His fear and desperation gave him strength and the adrenaline surging through his body helped keep the pain at bay.

He dug and dug and _dug_ , his arms burning and fingers cramping, until finally he encountered something leathery and warm. A gloved hand! Robin latched onto it and threw himself backward, pulling with all his might.

It wasn't enough. The body buried beneath all that stuff didn't budge.

Frantic, Robin released Wally's hand and plunged his own hands back into the dirt, removing more and more of the earth and debris, shoving armfuls of it aside. "Hang on, KF, I'm coming!"

When he'd uncovered Wally's arm up until the shoulder, he grabbed hold of his friend's wrist with both hands and _pulled_. This time there was some give and he could see Wally's neck. Encouraged, he pulled harder, throwing all his weight back and pushing off with his good leg.

Finally, _finally_ he managed to pull most of Wally's body free. His friend immediately began to cough and splutter and Robin felt weak with relief.

"You okay?" he asked, helping Wally sit up.

"Yeah," Wally rasped, still gulping in air. "Thanks, I thought I was toast!"

Robin smiled and sat back, watching Wally brush the dirt from his hair and feeling a little light-headed with relief. Then Wally's face started to go blurry and Robin's smile faltered when he realized blinking did nothing to bring his friend back into focus.

"Seriously, how did you…" Wally was saying, but he sounded far away and Robin was having trouble making out the rest of it. He frowned, trying to concentrate, but his vision kept going out of focus and his head was spinning.

Hands gripped his arms and Wally's face was close to his, but Robin couldn't make out his features. The world tilted and he felt something hard and cold against his back and he wondered if he was lying down. Darkness closed in. Had Wally turned off the flashlight? Or did he just have his eyes closed? He had just enough time to feel a vague sense of panic before the darkness took over completely.

oOo

Excruciating pain dragged Robin back from the blackness. He opened his eyes to find Wally with his hands on his thigh, leaning forward and putting all his weight on it.

Jesus, it hurt!

"S-stop…please, stop," Robin was pleading before he realized what he was doing. Tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes – it hurt so freaking much!

Wally jerked his head around to look at him, but he didn't let up. "I'm sorry, dude, but I've got to slow the bleeding."

Bleeding? He was bleeding? What-? Oh. Right. There was a gaping hole in his leg. He fought off the immediate wave of panic that threatened to crash down on him.

Wally was right, they needed to tie his leg off with something or he'd bleed to death. He fumbled with the pouches of his utility belt for something that might be useful and withdrew a spare line he always carried with him in case the line in his grapple gun snapped. It wasn't as good as a sturdy leather belt, but it was something.

Wally snatched it from his hand and used his super-speed to tie the line around Robin's thigh, just above the wound. When Wally pulled the line tight, Robin bit back a scream, almost gagging on the pain.

When the pain finally receded to a slightly more manageable level and he was able to focus again, he realized Wally was talking to him while reapplying bandages.

"-that, you idiot, you could've bled out in seconds! What were you thinking?"

Robin frowned. "KF," he said, and was surprised at how weak he sounded, "are you _scolding_ me for saving your butt?"

"Yes."

Robin closed his eyes, exhaustion pulling at him once more. "Okay." Whatever. He wasn't going to lose his best friend, no matter what it cost him.

He heard Wally's sharp intake of breath and Robin raised his head slightly to look at him. Wally was staring back at him, but it wasn't until he noticed Wally's shocked expression that he realized he might have said that last part out loud.

Under normal circumstances he would've flushed with embarrassment, but he really only felt tired and cold and his leg was burning like crazy. He lay back and closed his eyes again as he waited for Wally to finish up. His mind wandered to the rest of the team. Kaldur and Superboy were probably all right, but M'gann- she was vulnerable to fire and if she'd been close to the explosion… And Artemis. Artemis was tough, but she was also human, like him. He tried to recall where he'd last seen her before the blast, but his mind blanked on that. Or had they split up?

A warm hand on his shoulder made him start and he opened his eyes to see Wally's face hovering over him. "Dude?" Wally said. "Can you sit up for a minute?"

Robin groaned. "Why?"

"You're shivering. Your cape'll keep you warm. Well, warm _er_."

"Oh." Robin took a deep breath, but the second he tightened his abs, pain flared, engulfing his entire body, and he gasped.

"Easy," Wally said, grabbing his good hand and pulling him up enough for Wally to be able to throw an arm around his shoulders to support him.

By the time Robin was sitting up, he was trembling and sweating and fighting down nausea.

Wally didn't let go of him as he unclasped Robin's cape from around his neck and pulled it clear. Then he slowly helped Robin lie back down again.

The cape provided a marginal amount of warmth, but didn't do much to stop the shivering.

Wally crouched beside him. "I'm gonna go see if there's any other way we can get out, okay?" he said. "Don't go anywhere."

Robin glared at him. "Don't get yourself buried again."

Wally smirked. "Be right back."

This time Robin didn't have time to drift off before Wally returned. "How're you doing, Rob? Still with me?"

"Yeah," Robin rasped, and tried to clear his throat. He was _thirsty_. "F-find anything?"

Wally sighed and sat down beside him, leaning his back against the wall and looking dejected. "No."

They were silent for a while, because what was there to say to that? Robin wanted to be optimistic, but he had no idea whether the rest of the team had survived, or if anyone knew where they were. He didn't even know how much time had passed.

His body was being wracked by shivers and he gritted his teeth because the constant movement made his ribs ache.

"W-Wally?" he said when he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Yeah?"

"I-I'm r-really c-cold."

Warm fingers touched his cheek.

"Dude! You're not just cold, you're _freezing_!" Wally exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something?!"

Without waiting for a reply, Wally very carefully maneuvered him so that his head was pillowed on Wally's stretched out legs and carefully laid his arm across Robin's chest in an effort to share some of his body heat. Even though being moved hurt like hell, the warmth Wally provided helped.

"T-thanks."

"Anytime," Wally replied. "Hey, Rob?"

"Hm?"

"Remember our first ever mission together?"

Robin concentrated; it bothered him that his mind was having trouble retrieving his memories of that mission. "The-the one where you c-clocked me in the head?"

"Dude! I thought we were never going to bring that part up ever again," Wally said. "But, yeah, that one."

"Uh-huh."

"I was just thinking about how far we've come, you know?"

Robin blinked. "Uh…aren't w-we stuck in a collapsed tunnel right now?"

"Okay, yeah, not what I meant." Wally sighed. "I just- never mind."

Robin frowned, but before he could say anything Wally sat up straight.

"You hear that?"

Robin listened. There was a faint scraping sound.

"Hey, help!" Wally called out, startling Robin. "We're here!"

"Shh, Wally, what if it's the bad guys?"

"Why would the bad guys be digging us out?" Wally demanded. "All they'd need to do is leave us here and we'd be dead."

"What if they want to torture us for information?"

"Oh. Crap." Wally chewed on his lip. "Well, we're just gonna have to take that risk. We're as good as dead anyway."

"Jeez, Mr. Negative, w-way to stay traught."

"It's kinda hard to stay traught when your best friend's bleeding out right in front of you and there's noth-"

" _Not_ helping," Robin ground out.

Wally snapped his mouth shut. "Sorry." He called out a few more times, but they didn't hear the scraping sound again. Wally sank back against the wall and they lapsed into silence.

Robin felt his last spark of hope die. He could feel himself slipping, slowly succumbing to the blood loss; he felt cold and feverish at the same time, his throat was so parched that swallowing was torture, it was getting increasingly difficult to stay awake and-

…

"Dude, you with me?"

Robin started. "Huh?"

Wally was looking down at him. The light from the flashlight made him look pale, his freckles standing out on his skin, and his eyebrows were bunched together. He wasn't smiling. Why not? Wally should always be smiling, he had a nice smile. And he was funny. But now he was staring down at Robin with a strange look in his eyes.

"You look sad," Robin commented.

"I'm not sad. I'm worried."

"Why are you worried?"

"I'm worried about you, doofus."

"Oh."

Wait- if Wally was worried, should he be worried? …What kind of question was that? Of course he should be! If Wally was worried it meant something not good was happening. _Get with the program, Grayson! Focus!_

He cast his mind back, trying to recall where they were and what had happened but most of what he remembered wasn't helpful to the situation. He was hurt, he knew that much, and that Wally had climbed from – somewhere? – to help him. And- oh yeah, a tunnel had collapsed on their heads and they were trapped.

A nudge startled him into opening his eyes. When had he closed them?

"Dude, stay with me, okay?"

"C-cant," Robin said, his voice so weak he could barely even hear himself.

"Yes, you can, Rob." Warm fingers touched his forehead. "God, you're burning up."

Robin knew he should be worried about that, but he couldn't bring himself to care. There wasn't a part of his body that _didn't_ hurt and he just wanted to be in a place where the pain was gone already.

"Tired," he murmured.

"I know, Rob, I know, but you've gotta hang on, okay?"

Robin wanted to tell him it was okay, that he just needed some rest, but his tongue was suddenly stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat hurt too much to talk anyway. He closed his eyes.

"No, no, no, no, Rob, you're not doing this! You're staying with me, okay? Robin! Please, I…"

Robin never heard the rest. 

* * *

**A/N: In case you're wondering about the mission Wally's referring to (the one where he clocked Robin in the head), you can read about it in my fic Entrust :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! RL has been pretty insane, and I've been struggling to find the motivation to write. But rest assured that I would never let a story go unfinished :)**

 **Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me, and an extra special thank you, as always, to the wonderful Black Friar for the beta!**

* * *

"C'mon, Rob, _please!_ "

Wally carefully lifted Robin's head from where it was cushioned on Wally's leg and gently lowered it to the ground so he could scramble up and take a proper look at his friend. He pressed two fingers against Robin's throat and let out a breath when he felt a few rapid thumps. The heartbeat was too fast and it was thready, but at least it was there. Then he yanked his glove off, held his hand under Robin's nose and waited. After a few seconds he felt a warm puff of air on his skin and he closed his eyes with relief. Robin was still breathing.

He scooted down to check the bandages around Robin's leg and discovered they were soaked, the ground underneath stained dark. He clenched his hands into fists, trying to keep from freaking out because holy crap that was a lot of blood. There was nothing else he could do to staunch the flow; the line was still tight around Robin's thigh and he'd already used up all the bandages Robin had carried with him in his utility belt.

Moving back up to kneel beside Robin's head, he shone the flashlight directly into his friend's face, kind of hoping it would somehow annoy Robin into waking up. When that didn't work, Wally tried slapping him on the cheeks a little and eventually resorted to pinching the inside of his arm, but it was all useless. Robin remained still, and underneath the smudges of grime and dust on his face, he was pale as death.

The sight frightened Wally into further action. He tucked the cape more securely around his friend's body and got up to once again look for a way out. He went over the place practically inch by inch, almost causing another small landslide in his desperation, but there was just no way they were getting out without help. Frustrated, he sat back down beside his friend, checked his vitals, and carefully lifted Robin's head back onto his leg. Robin's breaths were coming fast now, and he knew it was a bad sign.

God, they were going to die here, weren't they? First – _oh_ _god_ – he was going to have to watch his best friend die and then he himself would die of hunger or thirst a few days later. He'd be all alone, in the dark, his best friend's dead body starting to rot in his arms and-

 _Way to stay traught, Wally!_ a voice inside his head said. It sounded a hell of a lot like Robin.

Wally scowled. "Easy for you to say," he said out loud, frowning down at Robin. " _You're_ not the one who has to watch his best friend die! Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

 _"I'm not going to lose my best friend, I don't care if it kills me."_

The words echoed in Wally's mind. Robin had said them, mumbled them, after Wally had scolded him for saving his life. For once, Wally had been dumb-struck. He wasn't sure Robin had meant to say any of it, but the emotions that had crashed into Wally at those words had been overwhelming.

Robin hadn't given up then; somehow he'd freed his leg from that damned pipe – Wally didn't even want to _think_ about how much that must've hurt – and had risked bleeding to death to dig Wally out.

Wally glanced down at Robin again. He was in terrifyingly bad shape but he was alive; he _still_ wasn't giving up. Not yet. There was still a chance for Wally to save his own best friend.

He frowned in determination and shone his flashlight around the cave once more, hoping there was anything else, _anything at all_ , he might have missed.

And then the light flickered.

"Oh yeah," Wally muttered, shaking the flashlight lightly," _of course_ the freaking flashlight's about to die, because that's not a cliché at all."

The flickering only got worse. Cold fear settled in his stomach and he wondered briefly where Robin's flashlight was, but he hadn't come across it while searching for a way out. Robin must've lost it during the tunnel collapse.

Wally cast his unsteady light around the cave once more, frantically scanning for Robin's torch, and then without warning, they were plunged into complete blackness. Wally sucked in a breath and shook the flashlight again. "Come on, come on, this is _not happening_!" He unscrewed the top, took out the batteries, switched them up and put them back in before fumbling with the power switch in hopes of getting it to work again.

Nothing happened.

Wally hurled the flashlight at the opposite wall with a roar. "God damn it, how am I supposed to get Robin out of here if I _can't freaking see anything?!_ Seriously, what the hell am I supposed to do, huh?!"

And where was their team anyway? Superboy at the very least should've been able to find and dig them out by now! "Superboy!" he shouted into the darkness. "I know you can hear me! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE AND-"

A small noise from Robin made him freeze and he automatically looked down, even though the darkness was so thick he couldn't see anything. "Dude?"

Robin didn't repeat the noise, but Wally felt chastened anyway. "Yeah. Sorry. Yelling doesn't really help the situation, huh?" Robin didn't answer and Wally leaned his back against the wall with a heavy sigh.

He wished Robin would just wake up. Realistically he knew that wasn't going to happen, which made it only harder not to flip out. Robin would've kept it together, would've kept _Wally_ together; he wasn't afraid of anything. Even the dark was something he embraced, not feared.

Wally's mind took him back to the first time he'd seen footage of Robin on TV. It had been five glorious seconds of Robin the Boy Wonder streaking across rooftops, doing flips and somersaults, and it had been the absolute coolest thing Wally had ever seen. His uncle's superspeed was cool and all, but this was a _kid_ , fighting crime and back flipping across rooftops and just generally doing super awesome things and it had blown Wally's mind.

When his uncle had told him Batman was finally letting him meet Robin, after becoming Kid Flash, Wally had been equal parts excited and terrified, because holy crap, he was going to meet the Boy Wonder! _The_ Boy wonder! Robin had been in the superhero business since he was _nine_ , which made him a total badass, and compared to him Wally was just a novice and what would Robin think of him?

Wally could still picture himself that first night up on a rooftop in Central City, vibrating with nerves, his uncle Barry trying to get him to calm down. And then Batman and Robin had arrived and his first thoughts when he'd actually seen Robin for the first time, in real life, had been _oh my god!_ and then _he's tiny!_ And if Robin could take out criminals and be Batman's partner when he was _that small_ , that, in Wally's mind, made him even more badass! Wally had gawked and stuttered, completely star-struck, and Robin had given him a grin that had looked both delighted and relieved and they had been instant buddies – you know, after Wally had managed to untie his tongue.

They'd progressed to being best friends soon after that. He was pretty good buds with Roy too, he and Robin both were. At least, before Roy had grown the chip on his shoulder. But Dick was his _bro_. They could geek out about science stuff together but they also shared a similar sense of humor, and he couldn't even count the number of times they'd saved each other's lives. Okay, so sometimes Robin could be an obnoxious little troll, but he always, _always_ had Wally's back. He was pretty sure he'd never find a friend like that again.

Wally looked down and reached out a blind, careful hand to smooth back Robin's sweat-matted bangs. "Please don't die, okay?"

The darkness was starting to push against his chest, blinding him, choking him. He'd expected his eyes to adjust to the dark, at least a little, but it was so thick, so absolute that all he saw was blackness.

Robin's fast, ragged breathing was loud in his ears. It seemed worse in the silence, so much worse, and it made Wally want to scream and yell and tear his own hair out because he felt _so freaking helpless_. But all he could do was sit there and wait and hope that maybe someone would find them and-

Something brushed against his leg, making him jump and causing him to jostle Robin in the process, eliciting a pained moan. "What the hell was that?!" Wally exclaimed, glancing around wildly even though he was still just as blind as before. Soft squeaking made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and he blindly lashed out, trying to bat the rodent away as panic rose in his gut. A mental image of rats crawling all over Robin's prone body made bile stir in his gut and anger surge in his veins.

"Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!" Wally exploded. "Being stuck here and waiting to freaking die wasn't enough? Now we have to deal with rats too?! What the hell?! WHAT THE F-"

 _"Wally!"_

Wally jerked at the voice that suddenly echoed in his mind.

 _"Wally, we're coming!"_

M'gann?

 _"It's about damn time!"_ Wally called back in his head, too upset still to feel any relief. _"You need to get down here now! Robin's hurt bad, like, really bad! He's out of time!"_

 _"I know. We're almost there, I promise!"_

M'gann didn't lie. Just a few seconds later she told him to cover his eyes, and Wally did, leaning forward to shield Robin's head with his body.

Ominous rumbling bounced off the walls and Wally braced himself, praying the whole tunnel wasn't about to collapse on top of them. There were crushing sounds coming from somewhere above them and Wally realized it was probably Superboy's fists pulverizing the stone and concrete slabs and rubble that was trapping them there. A short while later, the air became less stale and despite the fact he still had his eyes closed, he somehow sensed the oppressing darkness that had swallowed them becoming lighter.

"It's safe," M'gann said out loud, and Wally opened his eyes to see M'gann using her telekinesis to remove the last of the rubble. Wally squinted up at her and Superboy, the soft light of the moon above them still too harsh for his eyes. He was kind of surprised it was still dark; it had felt like they'd been trapped down there for _days_ when in reality it had probably only been a few hours.

"You can let go of him now, Wally," M'gann said, voice gentle, and Wally looked down to find himself still clinging to Robin's limp body.

"He needs help, like, yesterday," Wally said, reluctantly relinquishing his hold on his best friend so M'gann could gather him up in her arms. "His leg's a mess and he's lost a lot of blood and he's got a concussion too and I dunno, maybe internal injuries? He's been unconscious for a while now and I don't know if- oh god, what if he-"

"Calm down," Superboy said. "We've got him."

A surge of anger overwhelmed Wally. "Calm down? Don't tell me to calm down! You have no idea how-"

"I'll take Robin to the bioship," M'gann interrupted, and her gentle voice deflated him like a balloon.

Wally took a breath. "Just…be careful with him, okay?"

"I will." She hesitated. "Can you make it to the ship on your own? Are you hurt?"

Wally waved her off. "I'm fine. Just look after Robin."

M'gann nodded and glanced at Superboy before tightening her hold on Robin and floating up through the rather sizeable hole they'd created in the ceiling.

Wally slowly started to climb up after her, only realizing now how exhausted he was; it had been a while since he'd eaten anything, his snack compartment emptied ages ago. There was no way he could rely on his superspeed, his energy reserves pretty much depleted now that the adrenaline was deserting his system. It made him wonder how long they'd been stuck down there, and he was still a little miffed it had taken their two majorly superpowered team mates so long to- wait. _Two?_

"Hang on," Wally said, stopping and spinning around so suddenly that Superboy, who had been following behind him, only barely avoided head-butting him in the nose – for which Wally was grateful, because his nose probably would not have survived the encounter. "Where- where are Artemis and Aqualad?" he demanded, torn between fearing the answer and feeling guilty he hadn't thought to ask sooner.

"They're back at the ship," Superboy replied. "They're hurt, but nothing life-threatening."

Wally breathed a sigh of relief and after a moment, turned back to resume his climb.

"You do know I can just carry you up, right?" Superboy said.

Wally scowled. "I can make it by myself." Too many things had been out of his hands this mission.

"The sooner we get to the ship, the sooner we can get Robin and the others the help they need."

Wally halted. _Oh._ "And you just had to wait till now to say that, huh?" He folded his arms against his chest and waited for Superboy to pick him up.

Superboy wisely kept his mouth shut.

oOo

When they arrived at Mount Justice an hour later, Doctor Midnight, Black Canary and Red Tornado were already waiting for them. Robin, whose condition had steadily deteriorated even though they had finally managed to stop the bleeding, was immediately whisked away on a gurney. Artemis, who had a broken arm, and Kaldur, burns and possibly cracked ribs, both insisted they could make it to the medbay under their own power while Black Canary supported a rather woozy M'gann, who, Wally had learned, had sustained a head wound when the explosion had slammed Superboy into M'gann, accidentally plowing her into a wall. Which had also been the reason why it had taken them a while to find and rescue their teammates.

Wally felt kind of guilty for coming out of this mission virtually unscathed when, apart from Superboy, his whole team was banged up. He dropped into a seat just inside the medbay and watched as Black Canary tended to Aqualad's burns, slowly munching on a power bar someone had thrust at him. His mind, however, was with Robin.

When Wally had finally gotten a proper look at his friend on board the bioship, he had almost thrown up. Robin had looked dead. The image was probably going to haunt him for a while.

"Wally, your arm's bleeding."

"Huh?" Wally started, looking up at Artemis, who had switched places with Aqualad and was now being treated for her broken arm.

"Your arm's bleeding," Artemis repeated.

Wally blinked and looked down at the appendage Artemis was indicating and was surprised to see blood oozing from a sizable gash on his upper arm. "Oh," he said, staring at it dumbly.

Black Canary glanced at him over her shoulder, eyebrow raised. "You said you were fine," she accused.

Wally shrugged. "Guess I didn't notice. Kind of had other stuff on my mind."

The room fell silent, which was fine by Wally. He didn't feel like talking.

Some time later, Black Canary was just cleaning out the cut in Wally's arm when Batman burst in.

"Where's Robin?" he growled.

"Still in surgery," Black Canary replied, straightening up.

Batman stalked towards the doors leading towards the operating rooms, but Black Canary blocked his path. "You know you can't go in there."

Batman glowered, towering over her, and Wally held his breath. Anger poured off of the dark knight in tidal waves, but Black Canary held her ground. "You can glare at me all you want, but you know I'm right. Dr. Midnight and Red Tornado are doing everything they can."

With a growl, Batman turned and began to pace. Wally could practically hear the man's teeth grind and his gloves creak as he balled his hands into fists. Around him, the rest of the team were shooting each other glances, obviously uncertain about Batman appearing so on edge. Wally supposed none of them had ever seen Batman like this; Wally himself had really only seen it once or twice before. Both times had involved Robin being in mortal danger.

Speaking of Robin, why was the damn surgery taking so long? It felt like he'd been taken to surgery _hours_ ago. Sometimes he really wished speedsters could time travel or manipulate time so he could just fast forward to the point where his best friend was okay again.

He would not accept a future where Robin was not okay. Neither would Batman. And that had to mean something, right? Batman wouldn't allow Robin to die, so Robin was going to be fine.

Right? 

oOo 

Robin survived the surgery.

Barely.

The wound in his leg had gotten badly infected – no surprise there – resulting in a raging fever that had destroyed what had been left of Robin's energy reserves. They'd nearly lost him on the operating table.

Twice.

It was a full week before Wally finally saw Robin again; he hadn't been allowed to visit – no matter how much he'd bugged Batman – simply because Robin had been too weak. A common cold could have killed him, and even though Wally, by virtue of being a speedster, didn't get colds, Batman still wouldn't take the risk. And if Wally was honest, he really couldn't blame him.

But now that Robin was finally on the mend, Wally had managed to persuade – okay, _badgered_ – Batman into letting him see his best friend. Robin had been transferred to Wayne Manor the day before and so Wally was standing outside Dick's bedroom, fidgeting, waiting for Alfred to let him in. He had no idea what to expect.

When Wally was finally allowed to enter the room, all he could do was stare for a full minute. Dick looked like he'd been dragged through hell and back again. And that was putting it mildly. Purple smudges under his eyes formed a stark contrast with pale skin and he looked like he'd lost about half his bodyweight, cheekbones and jaw sharp in hollow cheeks.

He was still hooked up to several monitors and was also still being administered fluids through an IV attached to the back of his left hand. His dark hair was damp and there was a soapy scent in the air, making Wally suspect someone – probably Alfred – had just given him a bath.

Dick appeared sound asleep, and Wally was kind of disappointed because he was only being allowed to visit his friend for a few minutes and he just wanted him to open his eyes and say something, just so Wally was sure he was going to be okay. But he at least didn't look dead anymore.

He sat down in a chair positioned by the bed and he wondered briefly how much time Bruce had spent in it, before leaning back and just kind of watching his friend breathe and listening to the beeps of the various monitors. The noise was almost enough to drown out the groan that came from the bed a few minutes later, but it was enough for Wally to sit up straight.

Dick was frowning, his eyelids trembling, eyes moving rapidly behind them, and Wally wondered if Dick was having a nightmare.

"Wally?"

Wally was out of his seat and leaning over his best friend in a second. "Yeah, dude? You okay?"

Dick nodded slightly, eyes still closed.

Wait, if Dick hadn't opened his eyes then- "How'd you know it was me?"

Dick smiled rather dopily, finally pulling his eyes open. "Stealth still isn't really your thing, Walls."

He sounded exhausted, voice barely stronger than a whisper, but Wally grinned because Dick sounded like himself and that meant he really was going to be okay. "I guess you're gonna have to give me more stealth lessons when you get better."

"Yeah," Dick said, eyes almost falling shut again. He roused himself, his expression apologetic. "Sorry, 's the meds."

"Dude, seriously, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're _alive_. How's the leg?"

Dick tried to push himself up a little, arms trembling with the effort, and Wally immediately slid an arm around his shoulders to support him, rearranging the pillows at Dick's back with his other hand. Dick winced at the movement, but eventually leaned back against the pillows with a sigh.

"Thanks," he said. "My leg's okay. It hurts a little but 'm feelin' pretty asterous in general. Kinda…floaty. They're still pumpin' me full with the good stuff."

"Obviously," Wally said, watching another dopey smile appear. He chuckled. "You're high, aren't you?"

Dick blinked slowly, smile never leaving his face. "Maybe."

"Okay, so aside from the pain, is your leg gonna be okay?"

Dick nodded. "Bruce says I'm gonna be off my feet for a while though." A small frown appeared between his brows. "Which, _not_ asterous."

"Be grateful you still _have_ that leg, dude."

"Uh-huh," Dick muttered, eyes drooping. He pulled them open again with obvious difficulty. "What 'bout you?"

"What about me?"

"You okay?"

Wally waved him off. "Oh yeah, fine. Barely a scratch," he said with a grin that didn't feel entirely genuine.

Dick frowned a little. "Were you yelling?"

"Huh? When?"

"Not sure. In the tunnel maybe? When we were stuck?" Dick sighed. "I dunno, maybe I dreamed it."

Wally fidgeted. "I uh…may have flipped out a little when we were down there and, you know, the flashlight died."

"Oh. The flashlight died? So…you were stuck in the dark with me dying on you?"

"Yeah. And also, rats."

Dick's eyes widened a little. "Rats?!" He shuddered visibly, which, for some reason, made Wally feel slightly better about himself.

There was a knock on the door and Wally turned to see Alfred standing in the doorway. "I'm afraid it's time to let Master Dick rest, Mister Wallace."

Wally nodded and got up from his chair. "Take it easy, dude," he told Dick. "Don't let Alfred catch you hanging off any chandeliers any time soon."

He was rewarded with another dopey smile, and Wally made his way to the door with a lighter heart.

\- End -


End file.
